diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c5d885f..38001d6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ hana:
   disable_auth: True
   stt_max_length_encoded: 500000  # Arbitrary limit that is larger than any expected voice command
   tts_max_words: 128  # Arbitrary limit that is longer than any default LLM token limit
+  enable_email: True  # Disabled by default; anyone with access to the API will be able to send emails from the configured address
+
 ```
 It is recommended to generate unique values for configured tokens, these are 32
 bytes in hexadecimal representation.
diff --git a/docker_overlay/etc/neon/diana.yaml b/docker_overlay/etc/neon/diana.yaml
index 14110bf..c8fa873 100644
--- a/docker_overlay/etc/neon/diana.yaml
+++ b/docker_overlay/etc/neon/diana.yaml
@@ -27,4 +27,5 @@ hana:
   fastapi_title: "Hana"
   fastapi_summary: "HANA (HTTP API for Neon Applications) is the HTTP component of the Device Independent API for Neon Applications (DIANA)"
   stt_max_length_encoded: 500000
-  tts_max_words: 128
\ No newline at end of file
+  tts_max_words: 128
+  enable_email: False
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/neon_hana/mq_service_api.py b/neon_hana/mq_service_api.py
index 1d43fd6..e7c71ae 100644
--- a/neon_hana/mq_service_api.py
+++ b/neon_hana/mq_service_api.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
 
 import json
 
-from tempfile import mkdtemp
 from time import time
 from typing import Optional, Dict, Any, List
 from uuid import uuid4
@@ -48,6 +47,7 @@ def __init__(self, config: dict):
         self.mq_cliend_id = config.get('mq_client_id') or str(uuid4())
         self.stt_max_length = config.get('stt_max_length_encoded') or 500000
         self.tts_max_words = config.get('tts_max_words') or 128
+        self.email_enabled = config.get('enable_email')
 
     def _validate_api_proxy_response(self, response: dict):
         if response['status_code'] == 200:
@@ -88,6 +88,8 @@ def query_llm(self, llm_name: str, query: str, history: List[tuple]):
 
     def send_email(self, recipient: str, subject: str, body: str,
                    attachments: Optional[Dict[str, str]]):
+        if not self.email_enabled:
+            raise APIError(status_code=503, detail="Email service disabled")
         request_data = {"recipient": recipient,
                         "subject": subject,
                         "body": body,